[conspiracy mode]
It was all set up as a hush-hush law enforcement undercover sting operation. Then the operatives found it was a nice earner and took over most of the market. Finally someone realised that it was going to look bad if the truth came out. So they decided to make a career enhancing "successful bust" out of it - and erase any incriminating connections.
[/conspiracy mode]
IIRC US government agencies have previous on undercover operations that got out of control and became major suppliers in their target market.
**see also
Biting the hand that feeds IT
